WebNovice - May 1999 issue. Sorry for this format, our office PCs motherboard is down. We are trying to get our dealer to replace it, but it could take this whole month of May. WebNovice is in need of help: We greatly need a 56K external modem, please help. Our modem is also down and we are using an antique. If you can help in anyway send us an email: webnovice@uscities.net Our central AC unit is burned out too, so our budget is really non existant this month. Update - Its fixed, and no new one was needed. Mar 15th Linux machine outdoes Cray Supercomputer Cray is known as one of the fastest, and most expensive computers available. With laboratories and governments being the bulk of the owners. IBM showed off the machine they put together at the LinuxWorld Expo in March. The system used multiple Pentium II- Xeon chips, based on a clustering technology called Beowulf, 17 servers with a total of 36 Pentium II chips and a copy of Linux bought from a local Barnes and Noble. The system they assembled matched the performance of a Cray based on some computational benchmarks. The fasted speed of 3 seconds set by a Cray T3t-900-AC64 was matched by the IBM "frakenstein". The IBM was also a hands down winner in the price competition, with their machine costing $150,000 compared to a Crays tag price of $5,500,000. The test results can be seen at: www.haveland.com/pov Enjoy the "sea cow" from your PC. A wonderous creature that druken sailors mistook for mermaids, can be seen eating and swimming with their pals. WebNovice is located in Manatee Country as they like to call it here. They are the manatee - all thousand pounds of them, view them here: www.nccentral.com/manateecam.htm Stardock systems the makers of Entreprenuer is launching Monopolization in Quarter 3. - a game where you must avoid anti-trust suits and still maintain a monopoly. Can you become the next software tycoon? It is slated to cost $39.95 Microsoft is trying to take on the internet media market, with their beta release of Windows Media Technologies 4.0. Although it may not be a Real Player "killer" it is slated to match its features evenly. NetCenter releases the first Open Search directory. www.dmoz.org - relies on volunteers for developing a higher concentration of quality links for its directory. Volunteer registration has reached more than 8,000 and is growing. The speed man cometh - 500 Mhz machines are now on the horizon that will be affordable to the masses. www.intel.com and amd.com are unleashing new pricing schemes right now. You ever wondered if your email actually went through? sometimes you never get a returned mail warning, or it could be delayed in a black hole the net can be at times. Now you can be sure -everytime- by using a free service called CertifiedMail, it is free for non-business users, and $10 / mo. for businesses. Find it here: www.certifiedmail.com NetData, Inc. a company where some of us here work, is releasing a new browser plugin that allows a more natural way to use the web. With confusing domain names like Generalmotors.com NOT being the car maker - but GM.com IS - it can be frustrating to find a website you have never been to before. No you can surf with no more incorrect URLs, for example if you type webnovice it will automatically go to www.webnovice.com. There is no need to include a www, .com or .net anymore. XML code is available for websites to properly tag their sites and allow for better accuracy. The plugin works with either explorer or communicator browsers and does away with the .com and .net confusion. The browser plugin will be free and available shortly. You ever get tired of your PC taking up so much room? Now there is a PC that goes INSIDE your keyboard. The "zero footprint" PC runs everything just like an ordinary computer, but takes up no added space. Just imagine a flatpanel screen and one of these babies - hey now I can move into my closet. Find more here: www.cybernetman.com Computer security gets a little more James Bond-like: A wireless ID badge provides superb security; when the person steps away from the PC, the system automatically goes into security stand-by. They are about $149 and are available at: www.RFIdeas.com Ever wonder what happened to the guys in Spinal Tap? Or if they are ever going to make another DUNE? All sorts of movie related information and trivia can be found over at: www.imdb.com The Opera goes Hi-tech New Operas such as Monsters of Grace are starting to turn on new crowds. Using computer rendered graphics, and using 3D mylar glasses, objects seem to drift into the crowd and hover. The Opera is based on the poetry writings of Jalaluddin Rumi. Monsters of Grace can be seen again in Los Angeles soon for an encore. Check your nearest theatres listings. Don't be a sitting target for SPAM Junk email spreads more rapidly than a virus, consuming mailboxes with a never ending overflow of total time wasting garbage. Here are a few tips you may not know. You could be helping the spammers without even knowing it. If you ever fell for the hit reply with "remove" in the message, you have. Spammers use such techniques to determine "live" email addresses. So in effect you are letting them know that they hit a sitting target - then the flood begins to trickle in. Using your email programs black-list capability helps, also you can download Spam blockers, from places like www.tucows.com. Another idea is switching your ISP to one that actively blocks Spam emailers. If you have your own server, or wish to become listed on the no-spam list, cruise over to: maps.vix.com Experts say SELL Experts are saying to sell half of your internet stocks. They are expecting a lot of fluctuation in the next few months. Bob Metcalfe says "...trees dont grow to the sky." and "If prices fall, feel good about the shares you sold, if prices rise, feel good about the ones you kept." In the coming issue - (May is getting a DOUBLE ISSUE in honor of our readers) Playing the game Stocks used to be bought based on companies performance, now the game is played with a whole new set of rules. This coming article will discuss these new rules: * Supply & Demand - "hot ticket" stocks * Trends - The trendy buying of tech stocks * Online Trading - How anyone can become a stock player * Day Trading Why2K? A look at the genuine and the bogus Y2K claims people have made. A Website Howto We take the winners website and reconstruct it and show you step by step how we did it. Plus more! []